Two Cats on a Swing

秋千上的两只猫

Concept

A girl on a swing at a country house, enjoying a summer sunset. The girl is dressed in a skirt and a light T-shirt, and the soft rays pass through the clothes, highlighting the curve of her lovely breasts.

Inspiration

I saw this swing several times at my friend's country house. I saw where the sun sets and how beautifully it illuminates this location. Childhood associations with swings are joy, carelessness, and pleasure. So, I decided to combine a swing and a girl in warm and pleasant sunset light.

Wardrobe

I needed light, summer, simple clothes (a girl in the country). A little transparent for being illuminated by the sun's back rays. I took a short skirt to show the girl's beautiful, long legs. Top – plain white jersey. The white pattern on the skirt complements the white flowers in the background perfectly. The white T-shirt looks great with the rest of the colors and the bright, almost white sky. Moreover, the shirt is a little transparent in the lighting, as I wanted.

Hair and make-up

The girl is wearing light make-up because she is in the countryside. Her hair is light and medium. It is loose, as if she is resting, and beautifully falls on her shoulders. Blonde hair looks astonishing in this context. 

Light

The photo was taken on a sunny day at about 6.30 pm. The sun was exactly behind the model, beautifully drawing outlines on the skin, face, hair, and clothes. Thanks to this light, the T-shirt is illuminated under the breast, outlining its shape. It is the seductive but not vulgar detail that makes a portrait special. Of course, I used a reflector to make the girl's skin look brighter from the side of the lens. 

Posing

The girl is resting, enjoying the warmth of the setting sun and summer evening. According to the idea, the pose was supposed to be as relaxed and peaceful as possible.

When we started this photo session, a tiny kitten came to us, probably a couple of months old. Because the kitten was not afraid of us, he let us hold him. The fact that parts of the kitten's face and legs were white, like a T-shirt, flowers, and so on, was a nice coincidence. Of course, I took the chance to improve the photo and placed the kitty into the frame. You can see the kitten on a swing, near the girl's leg. The model's hands are on her knee, and I gave a plucked flower in one hand to add summer details to the frame. The model's head is turned in profile; Her lips are relaxed, and she is completely at ease. I wanted the kitten to look into the frame.

I carefully prepared the girl's position at first, and while I focused on sharpness, I simply called the kitten "kitty, kitty" and as soon as the kitten glanced into the camera, I captured this photo. Furthermore, I liked the shot.

Depth of field

The depth of field was chosen to focus on a girl in a swing and a kitten. The background is far enough, but at the same time, it is clear and readable. If you open the diaphragm more, for example, to 1.8, the background will be too blurred; as a result, flowers and leaves behind will not be visible. If you close the aperture, on the contrary, the white flowers in a dark photo will attract too much attention.

Shooting angle

The camera is positioned at the level of the model's hands. The setting sun is also in the frame, and the girl in the transparent T-shirt looks romantic. Moving the camera to the left and right is quite acceptable; it will not change the photo too much.

Cropping

I wanted to show the swing floating in the air, so I didn't include the pipe in the frame. Moreover, cropping around the swing and the girl was done on both sides so that the frame was harmonious in the composition. I didn't leave much background around the swing on the left and right to make the model and cat stand out more.

Expression

Express summer rest. Relaxation. Enjoyment of the place, time, and inner state. The model's emotion and comfortable posture show this. The eyes are closed, and the lips are slightly opened. The kitten added a feeling to this photo, a cute, smile. The kitten’s emotion made the photo much better, with a cute face and light on the fur. I believe it's one of the best emotional expressions in my photos.

Post-processing

The main task of the retouching was to show the warmth and softness of the evening summer light. Of course, it was important to keep the retro style in the image. The photo was quickly processed in plugins with the imitation of old photographic film. Modern processing with bright-green leaves, excessive sharpness, and contrast, in this case, is not appropriate.